


There Ain't No Party Like My Nana's Tea Party

by grey2510



Series: Convos with Crowley [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff and Crack, Gen, Mildred is a delight, tea and scones for everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grey2510/pseuds/grey2510
Summary: Audrey visits her grandmother at Oak Park Retirement Home and has the strangest tea party of her life... Well, maybe the second strangest...(Technically a Part 2 toTea Time with Mildredbut can be read on its own)





	There Ain't No Party Like My Nana's Tea Party

**Author's Note:**

> All you need to know from Tea Time with Mildred is that Mildred and Crowley met while Dean and Cas were putting up warding around Mildred's apartment and they've since become friends.
> 
> Title taken from [the greatest hip-hop song of all time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FArZxLj6DLk).

 

Audrey smiles at the woman behind the front desk at Oak Park Retirement Home as she signs her name on the guest register before making her way past the now-familiar common areas—the TV room, the dining area, the parlor with the out-of-tune piano... She avoids the elevators, which are always busy, and instead takes the stairs to get to her Nana's apartment on the third floor.

While she still isn't stoked about her family's move from Washington to Kansas last year, she is at least glad she's getting the chance to get to know her grandmother, who she'd only seen a few times a year growing up because of the distance.

At the top of the stairs, she turns left and starts down the hall but stops at an open door when she hears a familiar voice laughing. She grins as she pops her head into the room to find Nana at a small round table with her friend, Mildred, and a man she doesn't recognize. She wonders who the man could possibly be—he's too young to be a retiree and his suit is too nice, too black, and too not-polyester.

Nana spots her first and raises a hand in a wave, her gold bangle bracelets glinting in the sun from the window. "Audrey!" she carols. "What're you doing here?"

"Tea party, apparently," Audrey says as Nana gets up from the table to give her a hug. It doesn't last long because she's next getting dragged into another hug by Nana's friend.

"Oh don't hog the girl, Helen!" Mildred's probably a good ten years younger than Nana, at least, but they're birds of a feather. She gets a good squeeze in and then holds Audrey back from her so she and Nana can get a good look at her. "Look at you, lady! Did you cut your hair since last I saw you?"

Before Audrey can answer, Nana jumps in. "Doesn't it look fabulous? I was so worried when she said she was going to cut it short like this, but—oh, it just frames her face so well, doesn't it?"

"It really does! I was just saying—"

There's a polite cough from the table and they all turn to face the man. "Apologies, ladies," he says in a British accent as he rises from his seat. "I was unaware you were expecting company."

Mildred waves a hand. "Oh, please. More the merrier. Stay, Crowley."

"This is my granddaughter, Audrey," Nana says, bustling back to her seat, half-dragging Audrey with her until she gets plunked down into what she thinks was Mildred's seat. "Audrey, this is Crowley."

Crowley nods in her direction. "A pleasure, Miss Audrey."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Crowley."

"Crowley will do just fine." He picks up the tea pot at the center of the table. "Tea?"

"Uh, sure," she says as Mildred, who had gone off to the kitchenette a moment ago, puts a fresh tea cup on the table in front of her and starts rearranging the table to accommodate another place setting. "Oh, Mildred, I took your chair—"

"Don't worry about it, dear," Mildred says. "There's one in the bedroom I can grab."

Crowley finishes pouring Audrey her tea and Nana pushes a small jar and pitcher towards her. "Milk? Honey?" she offers. "I think Mildred has sugar somewhere…"

"This is good. I'll let it steep a bit." Audrey wraps her hands around the mug, soaking up the warmth while Mildred turns towards the bedroom. Before she gets too far, however, Crowley snaps his fingers, as if without even thinking about it, and the chair from the bedroom suddenly appears with a _whoosh_ across from Audrey.

She blinks and her jaw drops. "How the hell did—"

Crowley smiles apologetically. "Hell, actually. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I forgot you wouldn't know what I am."

Nana scoffs. "You just wanted to show off."

"Show off? I _never_ —"

"Mhm," Mildred echoes, giving Crowley a look. "Not foolin' anyone here, buddy."

Nana leans in towards Audrey, saying conspiratorially, "Now, I don't want you to be alarmed, but he's a demon."

She couldn't have heard that right. "Wait, what? A _demon_?"

Crowley rolls his eyes. "Yes, demons are real, so are all the monsters under your bed. And angels are feathery gits."

Mildred raises an eyebrow. "Well, one of them ain't so bad."

"'Ain't so bad'? I believe you mean the worst of the lot."

"Someone sounds a little jealous."

"Oh, and you weren't?"

"Touché." Mildred gives a wistful, dreamy sigh.

"Are you ok, honey?" Nana asks her while Mildred and Crowley continue their banter. "I know it's a lot to take in and hard to believe."

Audrey shakes her head, keeping her eyes locked on Crowley. "No," she says, slowly. "That's not it. I believe you that it's all real, trust me, I've seen things… But a _demon_? Aren't you guys like evil?"

Crowley gives a small shrug. "Theoretically. In truth, most demons are too bloody stupid to be truly evil. And the smart ones—well, one—me, let's be honest—has realized that evil generally isn't worth the effort. This is far more enjoyable."

"Right. So, you escaped Hell to go to tea parties at a retirement home."

"Actually, I'm in charge Hell. I'm the King. And the King has decided that a spot of tea with Miss Mildred and Miss Helen, and now you, Miss Audrey, is far more preferable than listening to soul collection reports and torture statistics." He sips his tea. "Do we have any more scones, Mildred, dear? Audrey looks like she could use a little sustenance. I can pop out and get more if need be."

"We have plenty!"

And in no time at all, a small plate with a cranberry-orange scone is in front of Audrey. It smells delicious but she has _so_ many questions to ask.

"Ok, so you're the King of Hell. Why are you _here_? How do you all know each other?" Audrey's eyes go wide. "Nana...are you a witch or something?"

Nana laughs. "A witch? No. The only magic I know is how to make a bottle of Chardonnay disappear."

Mildred settles in her seat again and pours herself a fresh cup of tea. "I met Crowley through some mutual friends—they once saved me from a banshee, then they came here to put up some demon warding, Crowley and I had a nice cup of tea with a view…" She winks at Crowley and Audrey has a feeling she doesn't want to know what that 'view' was. "And now he comes maybe once a month or so for a chat."

"He's very good at mah jongg," Nana adds. She pats Audrey's hand. "So what's this you said about having seen some things before?"

Audrey swallows. She never tells this story and until now, she's been half-convinced it was all in her head, except for the fact that her parents still get weird at the mention of Bali. Plus, her old teddy bear still has those patches in his head…

Nana, Mildred, and Crowley listen to the story seriously, which reassures Audrey, but Crowley sticks up a hand when she gets to the part about the guys who came to investigate the teddy bear. He flips through his phone for a second, then shows her a picture of himself and another man drinking beers and wearing cowboy hats. "Was he one of those 'Teddy Bear Doctors'?"

Audrey peers at the picture. It's been ten years…

"And the other one… Tall, floppy hair, rather moose-like?" That earns him a swat of the back of the hand from Mildred.

"Yeah! That sounds like them," Audrey nods, the memory becoming clearer now.

Crowley grins. "Miss Audrey, this just became my new favorite story. Please, continue."

Relieved to know that she isn't totally crazy, that the whole wishing well fiasco did happen, Audrey begins again.

Two hours later, Audrey leaves Oak Park with a scone in one hand and a new number—666—programmed into her phone in the other. She's practically skipping as she heads out of the building to her car, already planning on next month's tea party. Most kids would dread having to spend an afternoon with their grandmother and her friends. Well, most kids aren't lucky enough to have a Nana like hers.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Coldest Hits:  
> [Here was the prompt and rules](https://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/183924176425/may-2019-prompt-tea-time-posting-dates-may). 
> 
>  
> 
> My other works (sorted by series for easier navigation):  
> [Grey's works](http://archiveofourown.org/users/grey2510/series)  
> Come visit me on Tumblr! @[grey2510](https://grey2510.tumblr.com/)


End file.
